O'Pen Bic

Originally posted by Philsy Hi, not my pride but more that I'm worried she's going to get disillusioned with sailing. She was out yesterday and was struggling to bail out water. She's a girl who loves extreme sports (madly so) and always wants speed and excitement. AS you say, though, she will decide in the end.

Ummm... my boy is 10. A freestyle skier, big jumps and tricks etc, Skateboarder -  he drops in on half pipes, kick flips, pop shuv it's etc, National champion Judo etc, he climbs with me....

So he's similar ie loves extreme sports, but in my experience put kids in the wrong boat and all that extreme sport confidence can drain away quite quickly if they haven't got the basics sorted.

Now if your daughter is struggerling to bail out an Oppy, is this because she has capsized because she hasn't got the skills sorted quite yet?  Or filled it up going downwind because of bad boat trim? Is she struggerling from lack of strength?

Is a faster less numerous boat going to help?

It is a lot less upsetting to struggle to bail out an Oppy than lack the strength to right a boat that you have capsized several times and can't get back into.

I speed read the post above this one and the poster said something about a 4.7.so appologies if I have missed what was said.

If you are looking at that route I would be temped to look at a Splash.
The boat is designed to kids rather than adults so it's got the right dimensions for their legs etc. Righting is easy ( floats low ) which for a kid in a Laser is hard. Slightly more stable but no less exciting, with loads of feel and it's responsive. It's ligther and you can get the sail down without removing the mast. Cheap too.


Edit: Sorry you were talking about a Topper 4.2. The comment still stands. I'd look at a Splash. A far superior boat.



Edited by Jack Sparrow

How about a double-hander? Can sail with a friend then.

Originally posted by HannahJ How about a double-hander? Can sail with a friend then.

Gosh, she'd never stop chatting

Too small for a Feva, so a Pico, perhaps?

Originally posted by k_kirk Originally posted by HannahJ How about a double-hander? Can sail with a friend then. Good point. Take a look at Tera, Pico etc. My elder daughter is turning 11 in November, weighs 35 kgs. She solo'es a Pico with confidence and loves the fact that she can take her mom or granny for a spin occasionally. Furling main provides additional adaptability. And yes, she does like Pink on yellow... Gave up training in the Opti squads long time ago. Still does the occasional regatta for fun but generally prefers sailing with me or herself on the Pico with me close by on something else. Hope your daughter continues enjoying her sailing in whatever you end up choosing. Good luck.

Isn't Tera single-handed only?

Mirror? Depending on how big she is she may have to find an older/bigger friend in heavy winds, but they're quite manageable for kids and great fun (yes, I'm biased).